Roller-coaster railway



F. A. CHURCH.

ROLLER COASTEB RAILWAY. APPLICATION FILED AUG. I9. 192|.

Patented Mar. 21,1sw2.`

2 SHEETS- SHEET 2.

FREDERICK A. CHURCH, OF VENICE, CALIFORNA.

EOLLER-COASTER RAILWAY.

trieste.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 31, 1922.

Application led August 19, 1921.A Serial No. 493,684.

T 0 all whom t may concern Beit known that l, Frannnnreir A. CHURCH, a` citizen oi the United States, residing at Venice, in the county ot Los Angeles and State of California, have invented a new and useful Roller-Coaster Railway, ot which the following;` is a specification.

My invention relates to roller coaster railway construction, being` more particularly the track and supporting structu re therefor.

Coaster railways are usually constructed' with an endless track having straightaway portions, curves and dips which are accurately determined and constructed to withstand the strains of rapidly moving loads in theshape ot theears and passengers. rlhe track as-cominonly laid, requires considerable skill and agreatV amount of skilled labor due to the'ditculty of confor'minothe tracks to the supportingn structure. The common `.ternes of construction are also et such a character that a great amount of bracing is required, particularly at the curves where it iseommon to tie thewtrack to a central pole.

lt is the principal object et my invention to construct a trackV of the class described oit simple form and construction which is et `great strength, the track being ot such a nature that it may be readily i'ornied on the supporting structure and which may be rapidly laid with comparatively unskilled labor.

To attain these objectsl have found that by construelsing` a subtrack consisting of boards laid on edge and laminated to the extent et several thicknesses oi boards, such laminations being formed of diagonally disposed omnlapping` boards, a track ol:V maximum strength may be built.

lt is well known that il" a board is bent ednenise that it will twist or weave naturally due to the grain ol the wood thi account et this characteristic of the board, it is not possible to so lay a board on edge and con-torni the saine to the undulations ot the l dips in the track at the same time keeping Vthe board in a straight line.

l have `found, however, that if these boards are laid diagonally even to the extent et the thickness oi the several boards in its length, that l am able to easily contorno the boards in such standing position to the undulations of the track, this feature being the essence ot my invention.

A further important feature is that the and two center sections lG.

boards formino; the laminations are so ar ranged that no two breaks between the ends ot boards come in the saine cross sectional plane.

Fig. l is a cross sectional view of a tfack embodying a form of my invention. this view showing the track banked at a turn.

Fig. 2 shows a cross sectional view oit the track as constructed on straightaways.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a portion et the subtrack as constructed on a curve.

Fig. l is a plan View olf a complete sub-- track as constructed on a straightaway, a part ot the complete track being shown. and

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the railway shown in Fig. 4 andits supportingstruc` ture (enlarged scale) I The railway embodyingmy invention is constructed in the following manner:

The posts 'll with braces l2 are erected i and ledger boards 13 secured to the posts, such ledger boards extending transversely between and connecting the postsv 1l. The ledger boards are arranged and positioned so as to spot the curves and lines otthe track, that is, as shown in Fig; l; the ledger board is tilted or set at an angle as would be used where the track is bent ona curve, whereas the ledger board shown iny Fig; 2 is horizontal as used where the track straight on in the dips. Y boards have been properly placed, thereby spottingthe line of the track, the subtrack is lirstflaid on theledger boards in the following manner:

This subtrack, as shown, is made in tour sections, two side Vsections 15- llaeh el: these sections consists ot a series et flat boards .vertically arranged on their edges` and tirnily spiked to the ledger boards and, lwhere convenient, to the` posts ll. rlliese sections are each constrificted bv first sewiring; one board oil the section to the ledger hoard, suoli board beine; diagonally disposed throughout its length approximately the thickness ot the 'nuniber'o't boards used .in the track or lamination` that is, itt tour one inch boards are used; one end ofthe board will be offset four inches trein the other end. After the first board has been secured, additional boards in the required thicknesses-are added, one at a time, so that when the section is completed, it consists of a series of diagonally disposed ,overlapping boards. This illustration inFig. 4L as in- After the ledgery preferably l dicated .in one of the side sections where the first board 17 is secured at one end to the Vpost 11, the free end sprung bark the n to the thickness of four full boards, the

spacing for each successive board wouldV be twenty divided by four which would equal five feet. Any width of track may be constructed in this manner. Y

By arranging the boards. as j ust described, it is a simple matter lo con form the boards to the dips, as indicated at 22 in Fig. 5. After the two side sections andcenter sections of the sub-track havek been so constructed and nailed to the supporting structure, these sections are secured into a unitary structure by means Voftie boards 24; which. are nailed securely to the sub-track. such tie boards extending transversely of the track and arranged with respect to each other in any convenient distance thereby also forming a working platform for completinglthe track; as shown in Fig. 2;

The track proper. as indicated at 25, may be constructed of several courses of planks 26 placed one above the other and firmly nailed to each other and to the tie board and subtrack. As shown in Fig. 2, two courses of such planks extend inwardly forming a flange or rail .27 which is'used for preventing the car, indicated in dotted lines, fromjuniping the track, such car 28 having an extension 29 on each side which engages under the flange 27.

On curves, I Ahave found that` by constructing the track proper with boards 31 in the same manner as the subtrack. arranged vertically j on edge; that a track of greater strength is provided, as showntwo courses of such vertically arranged boards are used, a plate 32 being inserted between the two courses and the top of the track be' ing finished with flat planks or boards 33 laid horizontally, such track also vhaving an inwardly extending guide or ange 35 for preventing the car frornjumping the track.V

The tracks are provided with a metal band or strip 34 which forms a wearing surface engaged by the wheels of the car.

On curves, I have. found that it is desirable to brace the track proper and, for thispurpose, use blocks, as indicated at 38, which are firmly nailed orsecured to the tie boards and track. I have found that by constructing the subtrack; as above described, that I obtain a structure of maximum strength and great rigidityand that by tyingthe sections of the subtrack together, I not only leiders obtain this desired result, but the tie boards afford a supporting structure upon which the workmen may rigidly complete the building of the track.

It will be understood that by building up sections of subtrack, as heretofore described, that it is only necessary to handle one board at a time which can be readily done by workmen from the ledger boards and posts ot the structure; being a vgreat advantage over the common form of building the track wherein heavy planks have been commonly used.

It will be understood that the proportions of the boards forming the subtrack as shown in Figs. 3 and 4; are greatly exaggerated to illustrate the diagonalV disposition of such f boards.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a coaster railway: a suprmrting structure; ledger boards secured to said structure and a track on said ledger boards consisting or" a series of diagonallydisposed overlapping boards fixed to each other.

2. In a coaster railway: a supporting structure; ledger boards arranged transversely in said structure and a seri es of track sections on said ledger boards each consisting of avplurality of diagonally disposed overlapping boards on edge and fixed to each other. y

8. In a coaster railway: a supporting structure; ledger boards arranged transversely in said structure; a subtrack on said ledger boards consisting of a plurality of diagonally disposed overlapping boards arranged on edge and fined to each other; a series of tie boards on said' subtrack secured thereto; and. a track proper on said tie boards. Y

41;. In a coaster railway: a supporting structure; ledger boards arranged transversely in said structure; a subtrack on said ledger boards consisting of a series of track sections each consisting of' a plurality of di agonally` disposed. overlapping boards arrangedV on edge and fixed to each other; a series of tie boards onsaid subtrack secured thereto; and a trackproper on said tie boards.

V5. In Ia coaster railway: vertically ar ranged supporting posts; transversely arranged ledger boards between said posts; a

subtrack on said ledger boards; transversely subtrack; and

arranged tie boards on said subtrack; and 4 aV car track on said tie boards, said subtrack consisting of a plurality of diagonally disposed overlapping boards arranged onedge .and fixed to each other.

o car track consisting of a plurality of courses,

the lower course formed of aplurality of diagonally disposed overlapping boards arranged on edge and fixed to each other, the upper course consisting of a series of planks laid flat and secured to the lower course.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set;

my hand at Los Angeles7 California, this Y lQvday of Aug., 1921.

FREDERICK A. CHURCH. 

